German Style Potato Salad

I love the neighborhood I live in....

The streets are made of brick and are incredibly uneven. The houses were built a hundred years ago and look like cottages that were plucked straight out of Germany and dropped into Columbus, Ohio.

Each house looks like it has its own fascinating story as the steel gates are rusted and the gardens are extravagant. You can usually poke your neighbors house just by sticking your hand out the window.

I love it.

It's not for everybody but I appreciate it. Growing up with strong German roots, German Village feels like home to me. I appreciate the shabby aspect of this neighborhood. I love the idea of walking into a cottage with wood floors, brick walls and claw foot bathtubs and calling it home.

I'm a little creepy in that when I go for runs around the neighborhood and see a new house for sale, I do an about turn and run home to Google the house just so I can take a peek on what the inside beholds.

My grandma always makes this German Potato salad that I crave at least weekly. When I Google "German Potato Salad" in the hopes of finding something similar to hers, nothing seems to compare...

But I always see recipes similar to this. I played around with it and decided it HAD to have sauerkraut. It's a must.

German Style Potato Salad
Dame Good

Ingredients:

4 potatoes
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (I like to bake my bacon :))
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces sauerkraut
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.

Add the olive oil, flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook over medium heat until dressing is thick.

Add bacon, potatoes, sauerkraut and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Green Olive Chicken

I have the Real Housewives of Orange County on right now. There is a lot of squealing and shrieking.

I want it to stop but I can't look away.

Help.

Once, I saw a recipe on some random food site and was excited when I saw that it was olive chicken. I love olives...and I love chicken! But I was disappointed when I saw the reviews.

I think it had like 3 stars or something.

Meaning it is time to take matters into my own hands.

I threw this together. I found that I made a bit too much of the sauce and that it was just a little thin. I tried to counteract that with cornstarch and reduce the liquid content.

Hopefully this is better.

Green Olive Chicken
Dame Good

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive juice (from jar)
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Season chicken with salt, pepper, dried mustard and celery salt. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; brown chicken in oil, about 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add wine, broth, olive and lemon juice to the skillet and let simmer for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add onion, olives, Add garlic, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste) and mix well, Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken back into skillet.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Flip the chicken halfway through. Remove bay leaf. Remove chicken and set aside. Add cornstarch to the sauce in the skillet and stir until thickened. Pour the thickened sauce over chicken serve.

Rosemary Hummus

I would first like to take a moment to thank the men and women who have/are/will serve/ing/ed in the military. Happy Memorial Day!

I love days like Memorial Day...family and friends, cookouts, beer, the pool...it's great. It's even better when it is all done remembering those who have sacrificed their time and their lives to serve in this country.

I couldn't imagine.

For another type of holiday, Christmas to be exact, I attended a little cocktail party and someone brought rosemary hummus.

I had never had it.

It's pretty darn good.

I didn't think to ask where they had gotten it because I just assumed that I skimmed over it each time at the grocery store...my attention span is not all that impressive.

I'm the type of person who goes to the grocery store, with a list mind you (I love lists), and as soon as the cashier grabs my first item for checkout I remember something I forgot...then when I am putting my groceries away at home I remember that other thing I forgot. It always happens.

Well this rosemary hummus that had been on my mind all holiday season is literally nowhere to be found.

I searched for a recipe I could make that does not have tahini because that stuff ain't cheap. Poor college student+ain't cheap= ain't happenin'

I found this one and only recipe and proceeded with caution. It isn't exact, it's not quite the same but I don't hate it. Its good enough!

Rosemary Hummus
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Strip rosemary leaves from stems, discard stems, and place leaves in the bowl of a food processor. Add garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Pour in the garbanzo beans; process until evenly blended.

With food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, scraping sides of the bowl as necessary. Pour in balsamic vinegar and process until evenly blended. Taste, and add more vinegar, 1 tablespoon at a time, as desired. Pour in the water and process to make a spreadable consistency. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.

Pesto Chicken Pasta

I have this thing with pesto.

I kind of love it.

Ok, not kind of...I am absolutely in love with it.

How have I gone through 24 years of life without having had pesto pizza? Blasphemy, I tell you. I had pizza this year with pesto instead of pizza sauce for the first time ever...de-lish.

Now, anytime I go to a pizza place, pesto pizza is the first thing I look for. Try it.

You won't be disappointed.

Anyway, I have a pathetic excuse for a food processor so I have yet to make my own pesto...I know, cover your eyes. BUT, the store bought stuff isn't half bad. In fact, its quite convenient to toss into pasta with some sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese for a quick dinner.

Exhibit A.

Pesto Chicken Pasta
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package whole grain pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon oil from sun-dried tomatoes, or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
3/4 cup pesto sauce
1/4 cup reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Then stir in chicken. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute or so.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, and Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat evenly.

White Bean Chicken Enchiladas

Cinco De Mayo was last week. Sadly, I am guilty of taking advantage of any type of holiday to drink festive drinks and overeat festive food.

Mexican food is my favorite so you know I threw on a party hat.

One thing about Mexican, particularly when you go to a restaurant, is that it is rarely "light" and I like to eat "light" so I can eat a lot...because I rarely know when to stop.

Well maybe I know...but I am rarely willing to stop.

There's nothing like an endless supply of restaurant chips and salsa and margaritas the size of your head to make being healthy and thin seem obsolete and irrational.

Lucky for me, I can always turn to a Skinnytaste recipe and know it will not only taste good and unhealthy. But its healthy...booyah!

Ps. I have had to respell "restaurant" more times than I should be willing to admit during this post. I can't ever seem to get that word right...grrr....

White Bean Chicken Enchiladas
From Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

For the Chicken and White Bean Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup minced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
1/3 can water
1 chicken bullion
1 tsp cumin

For the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
1 tsp butter
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp flour
1 cup fat free chicken broth
7 oz can chopped green chile
2 jalapeños, chopped
salt
1/2 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
8 medium low carb tortillas
chopped fresh cilantro and scallions

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalepeños, and salt to tatse. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

I wish I could claim this as my idea.

Carrot cake oatmeal is kinda genius no?

My boss actually gave me the idea. She told me how she came across a recipe for carrot cake oatmeal online somewhere and I decided to come up with my own.

Because I'm stubborn dangerous like that.

I actually never liked the idea of carrot cake until I tried one of the carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting at the bakery...um...yum! As a kid, I thought the idea was gross. Carrots in a cake? No thank you!

Now, I take that back. Please put carrots in my cake. Anyone?

Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup skim milk
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1 packet of splenda (optional, if you would like more sweetness)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes or until thickened. Enjoy!

Breakfast Casserole

I have fallen off the radar yet again.

I don't want to neglect the blog but sometimes I have no choice.

Life sure has kept me busy.

I have been training for a new job that is actually in my career field (exciting!) My newest "internship" has kept me quite busy. Not to mention this is my last quarter of college ever (Dear God I hope so. 6 years is far too much).

It's been a good kind of busy.

I've been working hard.

In fact, one thing that I have been devoting so much time to is an assignment where we had to interpret a song. I, of course, go and pick a really hard song because I wanted a challenge. Challenge it was. Indeed.

Everyone and their mother has seen it now so I suppose I can share it here...this is proof that I have been busy!

It is not perfect. It is far from perfect. But I am proud that I was able to stand up there without fainting from nervousness...

Me interpreting "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem...eek!

Please don't laugh :/

Anyways. Food. Here's some!

Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 teaspoon mustard powder
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups skim milk
6 slices wheat bread, toasted and cut into cubes
8 ounces reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small onion, chopped salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (optional)

 Directions:

Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain. Add onions to the pan and cook about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, onion, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.

Top with green onions.

Breakfast Muffin Cups

Yesterday was my baby's 2nd birthday!

Don't get it twisted...my "baby" is a 21 pound Pug.

I can't get over how quickly they grow up! It seems like just yesterday that I could hold him in the palm of my hand :(

See? He really IS a baby!

I felt kind of bad because I had absolutely no free time to bake him any special treats or anything so I resorted to giving him an abundance of treats...not the best idea with pugs but hey, birthdays only happen once a year right?!

LOTS of treats...

Something that I find to be a wonderful "treat" is a hearty, wholesome breakfast. The kind that makes you actually WANT to get out of bed in the morning.

I don't know about anyone else but I generally shout out a bunch of profanity (in my head usually) when I hear my alarm go off. It can be 6:00 AM or 11:00 AM, it doesn't matter. BUT. Yes, there's a but. BUT if I know there is a good breakfast to be had...the profanity decreases significantly.

This recipe is something I came across on Pinterest...been saying that a lot lately, about EVERYTHING. I made these for that man of mine and I for one of our usual Monday morning breakfasts and we both gave them two thumbs up.

I like them because they're versatile and you can put pretty much whatever you want in them. We made different kinds. Some had mushrooms, some had peppers. It was a nice variety and they were easy to whip together. We could enjoy our coffee and "The Price is Right" as they baked in the oven.

Good morning to us.

Breakfast Muffin Cups
Adapted from Littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

1 24 oz. bag of shredded hash browns
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar
Turkey bacon bits or 8=10 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
Eggs
Extra shredded cheddar

Directions:

Take your bag of hash browns and mix in the salt, pepper, onion, oil and 1/3 cup shredded cheese. Divide amongst the cups in your muffin tin, making sure to grease tin beforehand.Bake hash browns at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until toasty.

Once they're finished, take them out and lower the temp of the oven to 350 degrees.
Crack an egg into each of the cups.

Top with bacon and a sprinkle of extra cheese
Bake at 350 degrees for 13-16 minutes (or until the eggs are as firm as you like them).
Slide a knife along the edges to remove from pan when cooled.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Arugula Towers

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the sweetest.

Like sleeping in an hour. Or being able to roll your window down while driving. Like when that man of mine does my dishes.

I have a million examples. I can't say that I have always been this way but I have learned to appreciate the simple things; the things that your average person may take for granted.

This dish is a great example of that. It's so simple that it seems almost boring...until you take a bite that is.

That man of mine and I started our very simple and sweet Valentine's Day dinner together with this salad. He was surprised to like it as much as he did and I was surprised that it had as much flavor as it did.

I highly recommend this for someone looking to steer away from their standard everyday salad. It's even better when it is the "opening act" of an Italian dinner.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Arugula Towers
From Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
2 medium ripe tomatoes
3 oz part skim mozzarella, sliced into 6 slices
2 cups arugula

Directions:

In a small blender, combine basil, olive oil, balsamic, a pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Blend until smooth.

Slice the the top and bottom off of the tomato, discard. Cut the tomato into 3 equal slices and season with a pinch of salt keeping the tomato intact to assemble the same way it was cut.

Place 3/4 cup of arugula on each plate. Create two towers by layering the tomato, mozzarella, arugula, until two towers have formed, one on each plate. Top tomatoes with the remaining arugula then top with fresh cracked pepper and drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Lightened Spinach Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce

Carbs are good.

I don't care what anyone says.

Carbs are better than good.

I always hear girls saying things along the lines of "oh I'm cutting out carbs".

Wait, um, excuse me?!

Isn't that like actually impossible? Impossible like resisting chocolate, or a free pair of heels, or a make-out session with Ryan Reynolds. It can't be done my friends.

Sure, I try to cut out as much white breads as possible and replace them with whole grain and fiber and such but a world without bread, pasta or potatoes is not a world I want to live in.

For those of you who don't fear carbs...then these stuffed shells shall make you salivate as they did me while they were baking. I searched high and low for whole grain shells but apparently they do not exist...at least not in my grocery store. Oh well, extra-carby it is.

This is actually a lightened recipe anyway, so the whole white pasta thing might as well get counted out. Am I right or am I right? The sauce I made for it was a meat sauce with ground turkey and chicken sausage but it was my boss's friends recipe...aka, not mine to share but it was delicious! Definitely my go-to tomato sauce. I changed this up a bit to resemble this said sauce so that will have to do.

Spinach Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

27 (9 oz) Barilla Jumbo Shells
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb 99% lean ground turkey (I froze the leftover meat to use at a later date)
1/2 lb Italian chicken sausage, casings removed (I froze the leftover meat to use at a later date)
32 oz crushed tomatoes (I used Tuttorosso)
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper
2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 egg
16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
1/4 cup reduced-fat Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:

Boil water and cook shells according to package directions, make sure to make them al dente.

Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in oil. Add turkey sausage and salt and brown until cooked, breaking up in small pieces. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.

Once shells are cooked and cool, fill each shell with (about 2 heaping tbsp) cheese mixture and place on a large baking dish, or two smaller dishes, covering the bottom of the dish with a little sauce.

Top shells with half of the sauce, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover foil and bake 5 more minutes.

Serve with additional sauce on top.

Roasted Thyme Sweet Potatoes

My eyes still burn from chopping onions...2 hours ago. I want to close them but it seems to make them burn more.

How can this happen to someone who loves onions as much as I do?!

Blasphemy I tell you.

The onions have nothing to do with this post actually. I am just straining to keep my focus on the computer screen when I just want to cry. I made slimmed up a version of Panera Bread's broccoli soup for dinner tonight. Stay tuned my friends.

Now this post...is the side I made for the apple cider glazed chicken I made a couple weeks back. The pairing is magical I tell you.

You may be wondering why my sweet potatoes are not orange (or whatever color that is)...well apparently white ones exist. Ch'yeah, who knew?

On, and they're tasty. If your store happens to have 'em...snatch them up.

Roasted Thyme Sweet Potatoes
From Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh thyme leaves, plus 6 thyme sprigs for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss. Arrange potato slices in single layer on heavyweight rimmed baking sheet or in 13x9-inch baking dish. Place on top rack of oven and roast until tender and slightly browned, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with thyme sprigs.

Pumpkin Turkey and White Bean Chili

I hope everyone had a good Halloween weekend.

I had a rough time coming up with a costume idea. I tend to like to do silly or funny costumes rather than the scantily clad outfits that most girls my age adorn for Halloween.

I have always been obsessed with all things vintage and fascinated with the many different eras and decades prior to my lifetime. I love old hollywood glamour and everything from the 20's to now.

I decided to be a flapper. Not too creative, but pretty fun to twirl around in.

Trying to get the hair right was a pain in the butt. My hair is long...like to my lower back long and pinning all of it up was not easy. I have never liked the way I look with short hair but you can't be a flapper without a bob...you just cant. It's like illegal or something.

I also feel that I must say. I have been a victim of ABC Family's 13 days of Halloween. Normally, I just get really into it around Christmas but they have been playing "Adams Family", "Practical Magic", and "Hocus Pocus"...no lie...who can resist that?! My productivity has gone down major points.

Thanks ABC Family...I'm sure my teachers will find you to be a legitimate excuse as to not having my work done.

Ps, they are already showing previews for 25 Days of Christmas. I don't know whether to jump with joy or cry. I love my some Christmas but I am not ready for my beloved fall to depart and be replaced by snow and 7 pounds in my mid-section.

Nope, not ready at all.

Speaking of 7 pounds...This chili is once again from one of my "food blogger idols" at Gina's Skinny Recipes. I have made pumpkin chili before and I liked it, but this one was waaaay better...and healthier...and easier...and cheaper.

Win. Win. Win. and Win.

Pumpkin Turkey and White Bean Chili
Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

cooking spray
2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder, to taste
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano
2 (15 oz cans) of white northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
fat free sour cream for topping (optional)
chopped cilantro and chives for topping (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a large heavy saute pan over high heat and lightly spray with oil.
Add meat and cook, breaking it up until white, about 5 minutes. Add to crock pot.

Add oil to the saute pan, then onions, garlic, sauté about 3 - 4 minutes;
add cumin and sauté another minute.

Add to crock pot. Add beans, pumpkin puree, green chilis, broth, chili powder, oregano, and bay leaves.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste before serving.

Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry

Where in the heck is time going?!

I'm having a hard time finding time to blog. Let alone breath. But I'm hanging in there...barely.

My birthday came and went. I find that tends to happen as you get older. This has been a year of growth for me. I have learned a lot about myself and about the people in my life.

I have found that I so often spend time worrying about the people letting me down instead of appreciating the people there rubbing my back as I am crying over the people who disappoint me. I have an amazing select few in my life who make up for all of those who don't really care. Gosh, I'm lucky.

I've also found that I tend to confuse positivity with having high expectations. I strive to be a positive and optimistic person, but sometimes in doing that I set these high, sometimes unreachable expectations which only lead to disappointment. It's easy to forget to appreciate things for what they are, and accept people for who they are and what they offer you, rather than what they didn't. I will spend my 24th year here remembering that for sure.

I'm going into this year a more positive, open, understanding and thankful person. I have all the wonderful people in my life, or who were once in my life to thank for that...and all the moments I have that remind me of these things, and the many MANY other things I need to keep in the back of my mind at all times.

This is a rather serious post eh?

On a less serious note, I carved pumpkins for the first time in forever on my birthday. I have announced many times how much I love lazy sundays and my birthday was just that. I appreciate the simple things in life...and thankfully my birthday represented that.

I spent my birthday with someone who showed up at my door with Coldstone Birthday Cake Remix, took me to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and carve "awesome" faces on them...by "awesome" I mean slightly embarrassing but still humorous as they looked like a couple of 6-year-olds did them (this is ironic as we are a couple of old folk), then we had a very fancy candlelit dinner on my coffee table and devoured Taco Bell...yep, per my request. My birthday ended with an intense game of Cribbage...and I won. Perfect day :)

None of that has anything to do with Thai food...or chicken...or pineapple...or even stir fry. But here it is. It's yummy. And I am OBSESSED with Gina's Skinny Recipes. Literally.Ob.Sessed.

Thai Chicken and Pineaplle Stir Fry
Adapted from skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp oil, divided
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 cups cubed assorted colors bell peppers (1/2-inch cubes)
1 red chili pepper, chopped (optional or to taste)
1 small white onion, chopped
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup chili sauce
cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

Mix chicken and fish sauce in medium bowl. Add cornstarch; toss to evenly coat. Set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; stir fry 30 seconds. Add bell peppers,onion chili pepper if using and pineapple;stir fry 3 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender-crisp.

Add soy and chili sauce; cook and stir until heated through. Remove from skillet.

Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Add chicken; stir fry5 minutes or until cooked through.Return bell pepper mixture to skillet; stir fry until well blended.

Garnish with cilantro. Serve with brown rice or plain.